


riverbound by soul

by dons



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Boys In Love, Dryad Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Eloping, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Naiad Lee Taeyong, Nymphs & Dryads, Relationship Study, Running Away, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 22:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18375356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dons/pseuds/dons
Summary: dongyoung wants taeyong to run away with him. all taeyong wants is a home./in which taeyong, a naiad, is in love with dongyoung, a dryad.





	riverbound by soul

**Author's Note:**

> hi dotae nation !! i've written yet another work that isnt one of the many ongoing series i have . that is not surprising at all  
> in case you're not familiar with mythology, here are some regular vocab :  
> dryad : forest nymph (nymphs are like fairies of nature !! they are known to be female but not here)  
> naiad : springs and rivers nymph  
> asteriad : moon and stars nymph (does not actually exist in mythology)

even in the middle of the day, taeyong feels like he’s dreaming.

 

it feels unreal, the way how whenever he opens his eyes, dongyoung’s arms are wrapped around his waist and they’re attached by the hip. his legs feel weightless as they gently swing around in the water, the ends of his sheer robes also floating.

 

from where they are sitting on the edge of the lake, taeyong feels dongyoung’s breath against his neck and he sighs when dongyoung presses his warm lips just under his jawline, tongue flicking against the thin webbing along the top of taeyong’s ears.

 

“it tickles,” taeyong says, giggling when he feels dongyoung’s legs below his, smooth skin against his own rigid scales and thin robes.

 

dongyoung has always liked his robes- they are mandatory attire for naiads, but some believe that robes are articles of the past because if you spend most, if not all, your time in water, what’s the use for clothes anyways?

 

taeyong’s robes are sheer and translucent, just enough for dongyoung to see his skin and curves through but also able to cover whatever body parts he wants hidden from the rest of the world’s eyes to see. they are also long and wispy (some parts falling along taeyong’s arms when he swims) and always wet. taeyong moves his feet in the water against dongyoung’s and feels the thin weaved material between them.

 

“sorry, my love,” dongyoung responds.

 

dongyoung is a dryad, which isn’t particularly uncommon but is also unheard of among the areas of nature where nymphs like taeyong would live. it’s mainly due to property ownership and the likes that naiads and dryads don’t usually communicate. if taeyong lived with his family, still, they would shame him for loving a dryad.

 

 _this is no time to think of his family,_ taeyong tells himself in his mind. the water feels warm against his legs and he has half a mind to slip himself in for a swim until dongyoung presses his face into the crook of his neck, and taeyong leans backwards, smelling the familiar scent of flowers and wind in his lover.

 

“say my name,” taeyong tells dongyoung, turning his head to look at him. dongyoung is a warm sight, with light purple and blue flowers in his hair and vines wrapping around his pale neck.

 

he kisses taeyong on the forehead. “yongie, my taeyong,” he says, over and over again, and taeyong lets out a gentle breath. dongyoung says his name like it’s the only word he’ll ever know.

 

“keep talking,” taeyong tells dongyoung.

 

so dongyoung does, like the dutiful lover he is, keeps whispering taeyong’s own name into his ear with his little lisps and accents he’s picked up from the many forests he’s been in. a wanderer is what dongyoung was, a right traveler that would drift through all sorts of woods and places that no other dryad had been.

 

but now, dongyoung is taeyong’s, just as much as taeyong is dongyoung’s. dongyoung speaks many words into his ears, in many different languages and many different dialects, but taeyong smiles happily because he can understand the beating of dongyoung’s heart against his back.

 

 

 

when dongyoung gets up and grabs him by the hand, promising to lead him to more and more beautiful things to see, taeyong has no thoughts to stop him.

 

as dongyoung leads the way, taeyong is left a little bit behind to stare at the beauty he is. they are both barefoot, but while taeyong only leaves damp footprints on the long grass, dongyoung leaves vines and flowers in every step he takes.

 

taeyong can never get enough of the sight. dongyoung takes a step forward and instantly where his foot meets the ground is another patch of violet, the same flowers as the ones in dongyoung’s hair and the same colour as his nails are.

 

unlike taeyong, dongyoung is dressed much more modernly. he is wearing a large, large brown tee shirt, reaching to just above his knees, rips from tree branches and stains from flower dye littered all over the top half of the shirt. between the tears, taeyong can see the patterns and marks tattooed on dongyoung’s skin (common for dryads like dongyoung), the ones he’s seen many times before, with or without shirt.

 

dongyoung takes him to a meadow, a different view from usual (he would normally bring taeyong to special places like his favourite saplings or bushes), and taeyong can not help but soak in the gentle afternoon sun as it warms his face.

 

“i want you to try this,” dongyoung says, and he lets go of taeyong’s hand to dig through a small young tree bearing no fruit on the outside.

 

because he has been out of the water long enough, taeyong’s gills close up. he watches as dongyoung pulls out of the tree a little apple, coloured deep, dark blue. “i found these this morning and thought you would like them,” dongyoung says, and he presses the fruit to taeyong’s lips. “take a bite.”

 

taeyong does. he nibbles at the skin and then takes a third of the fruit into his mouth, feeling sweet nectar drip out of every bite, every crunch on his teeth.

 

dongyoung, standing in front of him, stares at him intently. taeyong stares back, and counts the golden specks in dongyoung’s brown eyes. they appear only in the sunlight, turning from a dull green to the most stunning colour taeyong has seen in his life. he stops chewing for a while.

 

“thank you,” taeyong says when he’s finished.

 

when they walk along the path back to the river, dongyoung keeps taeyong right by his side as he presses small kisses to the blue topaz beads along his collarbones and shoulders.

 

 

 

“hey,” dongyoung whispers into taeyong’s hair, when it’s night time and they’re embracing each other other by the pond that taeyong calls his own. “yong. hey.”

 

“what is it?” taeyong says, breathing in the smell of dongyoung’s familiar warmth again.

 

dongyoung takes a step backwards, taking taeyong out of his arms but not quite too far yet. he interlaces their fingers and makes sure to hold into taeyong tight, so tight. “run away with me.”

 

it isn’t the first time they have talked about this. dongyoung wishes to the moon and the stars every night, taeyong knows it. the wind blows against the side of dongyoung’s hair and it flies up, revealing taeyong’s favourite flower, the one on the side of dongyoung’s scalp, normally covered by dongyoung’s hair. he sees it for only seconds before the breeze dies down and it is just dongyoung staring at him again.

 

“dongyoung,” taeyong says, more of an empty call to the wind than an actual mention to his sweetheart. “you know i can’t.”

 

behind him, the pond water gently ripples, a sound that starts off small but ends up pounding in his ears. he doesn’t turn to look.

 

“why not?” dongyoung asks him, and his hold on taeyong’s hands tighten. “i know an asteriad. i can talk to her, she can talk to the constellations. she can help us.”

 

taeyong opens his mouth to speak, but there is nothing to say. asteriads- nymphs of the stars- are a species that only wandering dryads like dongyoung would befriend. he is scared, at the back of his stomach, there is a feeling of uneasiness that comes with the thought of leaving the only forest he’s ever lived in his entire teenage life and adulthood.

 

“you know why not.”

 

“promise me you’ll think about it, at least.”

 

and dongyoung had stayed with him in the forest, has been staying with him for years, leaving for only an hour at a time to discover what his heart really wanted to discover. dongyoung, a travelling dryad stayed for only him. taeyong thinks.

 

“dongyoung,” taeyong whispers. “hold me before you go.”

 

so dongyoung does, hugs him one more time for too short, much too short, then presses kisses down from his forehead to his lips and promises to be back in the morning. taeyong watches as dongyoung turns around and leaves into the forest.

 

taeyong, he lets himself fall into the water and closes his eyes.

 

 

 

_“everybody’s hateful in this stupid forest,” dongyoung tells him one afternoon when it’s raining hard, the two of them curled up in the cave hidden underneath one of the larger lakes._

 

_taeyong breathes out through his nose, chin on top of dongyoung’s head from where he’s resting against the older, the only sounds of the pouring rain and the little leak of water coming from a crack in the ceiling. he can’t see dongyoung’s face from this angle, with how dongyoung is leaning against his body, ankles wrapped with wisteria vine and moss growing up the side of his legs._

 

_“but where else can we go?” taeyong says._

 

_“anywhere,” dongyoung says sharply. “anywhere but here. you know i wander, taeyong. my spirit is like that.”_

 

_taeyong hums in response._

 

_“if you’ll just agreed, i can bring you anywhere you want to. we’d worry about nothing, baby,” dongyoung says gently, “only about you and i being together. we can go east- find elysium’s waterfall, the one that we nymphs only heard in myths and legends about but never were allowed to go in real life. we can leave footprints in every corner of the world, every lake or forest or meadow you ever want to see.”_

 

_elysium’s waterfall. they had talked about it so many times before, but taeyong can’t imagine himself anywhere else but with dongyoung._

 

_“all you need to do is say yes,” dongyoung says, but the drooping accent in his voice shows that he’s ready for taeyong’s rejection._

 

_so taeyong says nothing, though his head is going a million miles per minute, and they hold each other in the cave._

 

 

 

the next morning, he wakes up to dongyoung’s hands on both his cheeks, both of them underwater, dongyoung looking like he’s about to pass out.

 

it takes him only seconds to wake himself up and drag them both out of the water. dongyoung gasps for air when he surfaces, hair wet and flowers soaked. “are you crazy?” taeyong hisses, wanting to scold dongyoung but also wanting to kiss him senseless.

 

dongyoung breaks a grin. “i just wanted to see you,” he reasons, as taeyong brings them both to the side of the pond where dongyoung sits on the jagged boulders, hands gripping on the long grasses growing through the cracks in the ground.

 

“you’ll drown yourself if you keep doing that,” taeyong grumbles, but he knows that dongyoung knows he likes waking up to seeing dongyoung smiling like a mad man underwater.

 

the sun is bright today, already reaching past the canopies of the trees and stretching far up into the sky. taeyong feels the warm rays on his face and already feels himself relax, head and arms above water (his hands holding into dongyoung’s thighs) while the rest of him floats carelessly in the water.

 

he looks up at dongyoung, and every thought flying through his mind stops and his entire brain can only think over and over again, _dongyoung._ taeyong feels his eyelids grow heavy, struggles to keep his eyes open when he stares at the man he loves so, so much.

 

“are you crying?” dongyoung asks, and when taeyong blinks he feels a tear swell up on the corner of his eye.

 

dongyoung takes his thumb and swipes at the tear, almost falling. “don’t,” taeyong says, but he doesn’t let go of dongyoung’s legs as dongyoung rubs at his cheeks until taeyong finally stops crying.

 

“i promised you,” dongyoung says, “those years back. do you remember?”

 

taeyong hates that the answer is no. dongyoung has said too many sweet words to him, all of them gathering up and clouding his mind like melted candy.

 

when dongyoung sits back, taeyong lifts himself out of the water and onto dongyoung’s lap. though the weather is all sky and no wind, the leaves in the background rustle and whistle, singing choirs to taeyong.

 

“if i go with you, we’ll take care of each other,” taeyong says slowly, almost nervously. dongyoung, face right in front of him, tries to contain a smile.

 

it is this man that makes taeyong feel youthful again, when he was first growing his gemstones and felt only pain in his body. dongyoung, who had brought him azure melons and wildberries from all over the lands, who had been shaking and nervous to hold taeyong’s hand.

 

“you’re my everything,” dongyoung says, face playful but voice sure and solemn. “as long as i have you, i don’t care where we are or what we do.”

 

“but it’s our home,” taeyong says.

 

“it’s not mine.” dongyoung presses their foreheads together, hands holding on the back of taeyong’s head. “you’re my home.”

 

taeyong thinks that dongyoung is his home, too.

 

“dry yourself off, first, so you aren’t overwatered again,” taeyong says. his hand blindly reaches for an arrowhead, one of the plants with broader leaves, and lifts one up from the ground to pat at the water droplets on dongyoung’s skin.

 

dongyoung seems to not care about his skin, instead mouth gaping open like a fish, only widening as he stares. “does that- are you really-”

 

“shh, be silent,” taeyong coos. he finishes up with drying dongyoung off and then gives himself a good shake too, water dripping down from his head to his toes.

 

as soon as taeyong is any sort of still, dongyoung grabs him and taeyong feels dongyoung’s bone crushing hug through his entire body. “thank you,” dongyoung whispers into taeyong’s shoulder, and taeyong wraps his arms around dongyoung’s back.

 

“dongyoungie,” taeyong murmurs. “are you sure? you know i’ve always wanted to settle down, in the end. with you. always and forever with you.”

 

dongyoung rocks into him. “we can settle, i don’t care. but not here. i’m sick of being here. let’s leave and never come back.”

 

when taeyong kisses him, he tastes agnaro cherries and another flavour that can only be defined as home.

 

 

 

_taeyong is crying when dongyoung returns with a little pouch made of alvyre leaves._

 

_“no, taeyongie, what’s wrong?” dongyoung whines, and he drops the pouch on the closest flat surface as he drops to his knees, skin bruising against the rough jagged edges of the boulder but he doesn’t care. not when taeyong is here, tears mixing with the transparent freshwater of his home._

 

_“don’t worry ‘bout me,” taeyong says, but hiccups and dongyoung is about to cry, too. dongyoung reaches for taeyong’s hands, who had his palms on his cheeks, and holds one of them in both his gentle fingers._

 

_“taeyongie, look, here,” dongyoung says, and taeyong looks up only to see dongyoung directing his view towards the little gift pouch on the side._

 

_taeyong takes his free hand to nab at it, fingers slipping through the carefully tied knot at the top. it unravels and there is a little piece of log- one with cuts and carvings that had been made carefully beforehand._

 

_it is a drawing of taeyong. though small, and a little hard to see, taeyong recognizes how dongyoung draws. there is blueberry stain for his hair, purple-blue in real life and purple-blue on the wood. dongyoung had made him this- in the few moments he was gone from taeyong, he had made him this._

 

_and instead of crying, taeyong smiles._

 

_“see? i told you,” dongyoung says, laughing. “i promised you i’d never let you cry as long as you’re mine and i’m yours.”_

 

_taeyong thinks that maybe he’ll start crying again. “yeah,” he says, voice shaking. “you did.”_

 

_dongyoung takes taeyong’s hand- the one he had been holding the entire time- and presses it against his chest, where taeyong can feel the unsteady pulse of dongyoung’s heartbeat on the back of his hand, and it thrums through his entire body._

 

_“this is what you do to me,” dongyoung mumbles._

 

_it is grounding. taeyong feels alive._

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading !  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/neovyong)  
> curiouscat  
> 


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